Learning to Fly
by AGENT Kuma-chan
Summary: Gift!fic for TryToScream. It's hard to learn how to fly again after falling so hard. She isn't healed, not completely, but it's a start and that's all he needs. --Sakura, Naruto


**Title: **Learning to Fly

**For:** _TryToScream_. Sorry for how late it is—the second half took way too long to write.

**Character/Pairing:** Sakura, Naruto, NaruSaku

**Prompt:** Naruto and Sakura meet for the first time in a park, normal!world, love-at-first-sight, several POVS, Sakura and Ino work in an office

**Warnings:** Um...AU, anyone?

**A/N:** So, I didn't put in a normal POV, or love-at-first-sight, except with Naruto because he is Naruto and she is Sakura. Other than that, I think this story went ok, though the ending took me about three months to write because I couldn't think of anything.

**Summary**: _She isn't healed, not completely, but it's a start and that's all he needs._

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"It's not healthy," Ino told herself. She stared at her reflection, brushing blonde hair. The blue in her eyes bounced back at her, when she finally decided to look into them, and she wondered if that was the truth trying to catch her attention. "Well, maybe it has nothing to do with health but it's not right."

She turned away from her reflection, not wanting to see anymore. "I have to do something, I'm her friend." She was convincing herself and Ino didn't like that. Confidence was something that oozed off her usually, something that wrapped her like a blanket and reached for others.

Yet here she was, unsure.

(And maybe, that was because last time she was wrong. So wrong and in a way that saying, "Oops, my mistake" wasn't going to help.)

She tied her hair up, put on a coat, and went downstairs.

"It will work out," she said, avoiding the mirror as she left her house, and this time she didn't need convincing.

-x-

Sakura paced, irritated though she shouldn't be. Not anymore at least, since it was something Ino liked to do. That girl would come an hour, two hours late and think of it as just being a little late.

Ino would always be late.

That didn't stop her from pacing outside her car.

(Two steps forward, turn, five steps forward, stop, glance at watch, turn, eight steps forward…)

Catching the sight of a blonde mane heading her way, Sakura jumped in the car and started it. Glancing at the clock, she sighed.

"We're twenty minutes late," Sakura grumbled when Ino slid into the car. "Why do you always do this?"

"Because, you need to make an impression."

"Not a bad one, pig."

"Forehead, only you could make a bad impression."

"I'm surprised they haven't fired us by now."

"They need me too much."

Sakura laughed at that and Ino, after trying to look indignant for a moment, joined in. "Sometimes you could be impossible."

Ino gave her a grin. "That's why you're here."

Sakura shook her head, pulling into the next lane. "Anyways, I can't wait till next Tuesday. When are we going, again?"

"…" Ino paused, saying the first lie. It slipped off her tongue easier than she expected, though it wouldn't have been the first time she lied nor will it ever be the last. Lying got easier with experience, which was a pity. "At eight, of course. We're way too busy before that."

"We?" Sakura snorted. "You mean me, of course."

"Of course I do," Ino said absentmindedly. Already she was planning ahead.

-x-

Sometimes, Sakura liked to stare outside her office window. Her mind would float with the breeze, flying higher and farther away until there was no connection with the ground.

Except for one, the destination it would go to, the hospital nearby.

(The place where _if_'s and _maybe_'s always led but reality never dared to darken its doorstep.)

White suits, glinting instruments, the steady beep of a heart monitor—she'd imagine a day where people called her name urgently and patients looked at her for answers.

Then Ino's voice would come barging in and the bubble popped.

-x-

Naruto wasn't one for daydreaming. He liked his job, having to deliver odds and ends to clients all over the city. The wind blowing through his hair, the sun shining on his back, all perks to an exciting job.

One time, he tried working in an office. A small room, dimly lit, with a clock that steadily ticked away the day. Papers were piled on his desk, written in a foreign language that swam when he tried to read them. He quit after a day.

This job, though, was fun. Sometimes he had a client on the opposite side of the city and he had to get there in twenty minutes. Naruto would have to find alleys and shortcuts, peddling on his bike as fast as he could.

(Pumping legs, a little more and he could fly—)

Sometimes, he felt like he was having a race against the world and he didn't know if he or the wind was winning.

-x-

"So," Ino glanced at the clock, hoping that this wouldn't take too long. "Are you sure?"

She waited patiently for a reply, at least, as patiently as she could. Her fingers drummed against the table.

"Yes, 8pm. You should get there a little late."

Sakura had probably already finished her work for the day and yet Ino still had more than half of her quota to go. She'd have to work fast if she wanted to finish in time.

"She'd get confused or realize what was happening. Yes, that quaint restaurant around the corner. No, it's cheap."

He probably wasn't a good choice, worried about money like that, but then again, he might need to save his money for something.

"Oh really? You weren't worried?" She snorted—everyone worried about money.

"Yes. No. Of course. Yes. Hmm…ok, bye." With that, she hung up the phone.

Glancing at her picture of Sakura and her grinning, arms overlapping bodies and fingers giving a victory sign, she nodded.

It would work out.

-x-

Sakura liked to eat her lunch out in the park. There was a small one near her office, surrounded by buildings the way a child is surrounded by adults. Their monstrous shadows could make it dark here in the late-afternoon, but before that it wasn't too bad. The trees were leafy and tall, a multitude of green, and there were benches along a path that ran through it. Try as she might, she had never found a leaf that matched her exact eye colour.

Ino would join her every now and then but more often than not she went to restaurants and on dates during lunch. She was a very social person, craving companionship and avoiding solitude.

"It's so…quiet," Ino said. "So lonely and quiet."

"Of course it is." Sakura laughed. "You're _alone_."

"I know that!" Ino huffed, looking indignant. "But, it leaves you alone with you thoughts."

"…hence, solitude. You're supposed to think and try to understand your day. Or, if something confusing happened, organize and reflect on it."

"Sakura, I know that. I'm not an idiot."

"Sometimes you make me wonder."

Ino fumed quietly, cutting back her retort before this could escalate into a full-blown flight. It was hard to resist the urge but she managed.

"It's not always nice to go through those thoughts."

"…"

"There are some that better left forgotten."

-x-

On Wednesday, Sakura saw a blur of orange pass by. This wasn't the first time it had, nor would it likely be the last. She could just make out his face (the blue eyes, the yellow hair, the carefree grin) before he disappeared into the dust once more.

He seemed happy, with a freedom that comes with doing he wanted.

She half-envied him.

Half, because she could see the stained sheets and the white tubes, hear the steady beeping, and know that she wouldn't smile like that even if she did what she wanted to do.

She wasn't fully sure of what that was anymore, anyways.

-x-

Naruto liked taking the park as a short-cut. Towards midday, there weren't very many people in it and he could roar his way through life.

He sometimes saw a pink-haired girl eating, quietly staring in the distance. Trying, he couldn't tell just what it was she saw, just what is was that made her frown and sigh of things gone by.

On good days, he passed her two, three, four times.

There wasn't any reason for this, except trying to catch her eye. Maybe she'd look his way one day, maybe she'd even think of him and he could claim one of those smiles as his own.

Unexpectedly, that was exactly what he got.

-x-

Sakura jumped to her feet, more out of shock than anything, and dashed toward the crumpled figure.

A few minutes ago, the biker swerved suddenly off the path and onto the hill beside it.

"Sir? Hello? Are you okay?" she yelled as she approached him. At first, she couldn't tell if he was or wasn't, his prone body lying there.

Then, as though in a daze, he slowly got up, looking around in surprise.

"Stay down, please," she said quickly, her old skills surfacing once more. She kept him sitting down while checking his vitals.

"What?" He blushed lightly as she put two fingers on his neck. "You don't need to do this."

"Rubbish, you could have been hurt." Ignoring his protests, she continued. "How many fingers do you see?"

"Eh? Oh....three. Really you—"

"What day is it? Who are you?"

"It's Thu—no, it's Wednesday and I'm Uzamaki Naruto."

"...good, then that bump on your head is just for show." She sighed in relief, giving him a quick smile before getting up.

-x-

He blushed lightly, feeling his cheeks turn warm. _Stop it_, he told himself, _before she notices_.

It might be too late, she'd already patted them, but maybe he could blame it on surprise. Or fear—no, not fear, he was not afraid!

Adrenaline rush?

She's prettier up close, he thought for a moment. She still helped him as well, even when he told her not to, and he added 'kind' to his list of descriptions.

Smart, too, giving how she checked him.

Then, after giving him that smile he wanted, she got up to leave.

That was too quick! He still didn't know her name. Quickly, he blurted out the question without thinking. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Huh?" She turned to look at him in surprise and he was in a fix.

"Uh...well, you saved me."

"Oh....it's Haruno Sakura." She glanced at his cycle, at the bags strewn around them. "Are you late for delivering something?"

He grimaced inwardly. Right, the delivery. Well, it could wait. She made another move to ask before he shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. I just like riding fast."

"I could tell." She gave him a grin. "You're always rushing through here like you're on fire."

She noticed him! A point for him.

"I'm the fastest courier in this town. In the world, even!"

"My, my, what a big claim."

It was an easy conversation they fall into, one full of bantering. She teased him more than he did her, and after what felt like a day but was actually an hour she got up to leave.

"Well, bye Uzamak—"

"Call me Naruto."

"Then you could call me Sakura." His face smile widened. "Bye Naruto—wait." She turned look at his bicycle and then at him, as a though a thought just hit her.

"You weren't wearing a helmet, where you?"

He swallowed nervously, not liking the way her eyes darkened.

-x-

"So, do you like delivering? Especially by bike?" His helmet sat on his lap, a bright yellow one that blinded her for a moment.

"Of course! I...I'm on top of the world, unstoppable. I could go anywhere. I am free and—" He paused, not sure of what to say.

"It must be incredible then," she said, giving him a soft smile. "I envy you."

-x-

"Naruto, have you ever wanted to get away from it all?" She didn't know why she was asking him this, when he still was more of a stranger than a friend. He was growing on her, though, as vines do a tree.

She couldn't tell if this would be a choke-hold.

"Away from what?" He was perceptive at times but only when it was something he could relate to. She knew he's never wanted to escape; he was too much of a fighter to even entertain that thought.

(She wondered, briefly, if he would think less of her for this, but dismissed the notion. He wasn't that close, not yet.)

"Never mind."

-x-

He asked, surprising her, "Do you like what you're doing?"

She hesitated, short and barely noticeable, but he caught it all the same. "Yeah, I do."

Her fingers bunched her skirt.

-x-

"Do you want give it a spin?" The question was randomly thrown out.

"Huh?"

He turned to face her as he got off the bike. "Well, you seem like you want to ride it. You always stare at it."

Oh, so he caught her. She turned red at this and his eyes softened at the corners.

"Here," he tossed the helmet at her and was surprised when it hit him in the chest immediately after.

"Maybe next time." With a quick wave, she headed back to the building.

-x-

"When I was little, I wanted to rule the world."

"Very big plans for a five-year-old."

"Hey, I actually planned it out."

"Oh really? How?"

"Well....I would use robots and—"

"I see how you failed."

"Sakura-chan!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"So, what did you want to be?"

"....a doctor...." Silence. "I have to go now."

-x-

Naruto thought he should ask her about it. She always tried to avoid the past, tried to avoid anything to do with her job or her wishes.

If he was a little more brash, he would. However, growing up had given him a tact that childhood never knew. Pushing now would only closer her walls tighter, not open them up.

Instead, he talked to her, teased her, and waited for her to tell him on her own.

-x-

"Have you ever flown, Sakura-chan?" he asked this randomly on Tuesday, staring at the clouds. She looked up, trying to see the silver glint of a plane, but couldn't find it.

"Twice, but I can't say much for the food."

He looks confused for a moment before laughing. "Airplane food is the worst. They don't even give ramen!"

"...not everyone breathes it like you do."

"....they should give the option at least!"

"...."

"Anyways, I didn't mean flying with an airplane."

"I don't think anyone could do that, idiot."

He shook his head before replying. "I have."

She turned to see him give her a smile, one that took her breath away.

"What me to take you sometime?"

-x-

"What's taking her so long?" Sakura sighed, sitting in the booth. Ino had told her to go on ahead, that she would be ready on time, but it was twenty minutes past eight and the girl had yet to arrive.

A very long twenty minutes considering she arrived half an hour early.

She closed her eyes, sighing. Ino probably needed a ride to get here. Getting out her phone, she almost dialed the number when a young man walked up to her table.

"Hello?"

He gave her a smirk, his wild brown hair giving him a roguish look. There was something wild and feral about him, something that warned and interested her, and she quickly averted her eyes.

"Haruno Sakura, correct?" She nodded. "I'm Inuzuka Kiba, your charming date tonight."

"..." She stared at him for a moment, her mouth open, and dark thoughts crossed her mind. This was Ino's fault, of course. Ino set her up, again, and....

Well, this time it didn't seem as bad, but still.

It was the principle that counted.

"...I'm sorry but—"

"Please, just this one date? Since we are already here..."

She sighs, it wasn't his fault after all. And he was, actually, just as he proclaimed to be. A little arrogant but someone she didn't mind knowing.

It was only, as they sat there, she sometimes saw blue eyes and yellow hair, sometimes heard of unknown places and exciting journeys.

That night, she dreamed of wings and clear skies.

-x-

They met the next day and she confessed to him.

"I was originally studying to become a doctor. I probably would be one now but then..." she paused here, choking slightly. A lump formed in her throat and she pushed past it. "At that time, I had a boyfriend. He...wasn't the nicest or the sweetest person in the world, even arrogant and rude at times," she gave a small smile, "but he could be kind when he had to. He knew just what to do to make me better and he...he..." She starts crying lightly here.

Naruto reached out to give her a comforting squeeze, to hug her, to cradle her, but she darted out of range.

"He was everything to me. Then...he got hurt. Badly. The doctors couldn't save him, couldn't bring him back to me..." She sniffled, hugging herself. "I....I just couldn't do it then. If they couldn't save the one person that mattered...." She looked up at him, pleading for something. "What was the point of it anymore? What could I do when they couldn't...."

She broke away, letting the silence fall. He didn't know what to say this time.

He still didn't when she got off the bench. What could he say, anyways? It would all fall flat, words that really couldn't help her, really couldn't mean much. He was still a stranger, in a sense.

When she walked away, he didn't stop her.

-x-

Two days later, he caught her sitting there again, looking at him hesitantly. She was worried about his reaction, he realized, about what he would say to her.

"Catch!" She managed to stop the package from hitting her in the chest, throwing him a glare.

"Give me a better warning next time."

"It's not my fault you were spacy."

"....Naruto," there was that edge to her voice again and he could almost believe she was better.

Except, she was more subdued, more silent, and he hoped that this will help her.

"I don't know if it fits you," he started, "I could exchange it in case."

"Hmm?" She looked down to finally see what he threw and there was a pink helmet in her lap. "A helmet?"

"Yeah," he scratched his head nervously. "I promised to take you flying, didn't I?"

She stared at him, at this boy who was trying so hard, and thought of (black hair and pale skin and—) moving on.

Of taking a step forward, in this direction, for once.

Slipping on the helmet—it was a little loose, but she could tighten it for now—and followed him to his bike.

"Lead the way."

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End file.
